Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen wins GOP primary for 2026 re-election bid

Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen is poised to be re-elected governor of the red-leaning Great Plains state.

Pillen easily dominated five challengers in Nebraska’s GOP gubernatorial primary to win his party’s nomination in 2026, the Associated Press reports.

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Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen is seen inside the Fiserv Forum during the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 18, 2024. (Getty Images)

The governor, a practicing veterinarian and president of Pillen Family Farms who also played defensive back for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team five decades ago, was first elected in 2022.

Support from incumbent Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts helped Pillen dominate a field of Republican rivals in the primaries before easily winning the general election.

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Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is running for a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate this year. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A week after being sworn in as governor, Pillen nominated Ricketts to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when Republican Sen. Ben Sasse resigned to become president of the University of Florida.

Pillen will be considered the heavy favorite in the general election in a state where President Donald Trump was carried by 20 points as he regains the White House in 2024.

The Nebraska State Capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska (Getty Images)

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The governor will face former state Sen. Lynne Walz, who won the Democratic nomination, the Associated Press reports.

Walz crushed perennial candidate Larry Marvin in the Democratic primary.